The Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) is a standard for digital wireless communications. GSM has much more services than just voice telephony. Today's second-generation GSM networks deliver high quality and secure mobile voice and data services (such as SMS/Text Messaging) with full roaming capabilities across the world.
The development of GSM Networks and terminals to support more advanced data bearer technologies has allowed for the introduction of new exciting data services and mobile applications.
In mobile networks people can be contacted by calling to their mobile telephone number or by sending to that number a so called short message by e.g. making use of the Short Message Service (SMS). The point-to-point Short message service (SMS) provides a means of sending messages of limited size to and from GSM mobiles. Detailed information can be found in the ETSI standard GSM 03.40 Version 5.3.0.
The Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) inside GSM phones is a smart chip that was originally designed as a secure way to connect individual subscribers to the network. There is an on-going evolution of the SIM into a standardized and secure application platform for GSM and next generation networks. New functions added to the SIM card have enabled different applications and accelerated the move towards the mobile phone as a data terminal.
In order to execute various applications such as bank account monitoring, reservations for travel, theatre, weather forecasts services, etc. there is needed some kind of a program that uses different kind of interfaces and is running on the SIM card.
For a successful downloading of an application to a mobile phone, it is necessary that the mobile phone has support for the application by having the right program running on the SIM. The trend towards different standardized high level languages, such as Java Card, will continue, giving more and more flexibility and performance to the SIM card application developers. The adoption of a standard which defines APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and application load mechanisms will allow the service provider to develop his application once and potentially load it over the air to any SIM card complying this standard.
As Java is emerging as an interoperable unified programming environment, it becomes possible to download interoperable applications, so called Java applets, on all SIM cards. The Java applets—such as games, banking applications, and other security applications—can e.g. work through a SIM/USIM API interface. Java also offers remote management procedures, using the GSM 03.48 and Global Platform communication standards.
The subscriber can by himself add or remove SIM Java applications or other applications either through the web or by using the mobile terminal. The Smart Card has been playing an important role in insuring security in networks and thus, the inherent security properties of the SIM can be used to enable end-to-end security, encryption, authentication and signing.
The SIM card will keep offering its intrinsic security to validate new services access and to secure transactions. The future generation of “Internet-like” phones will make the best use of the SIM card through the execution of authentication applications for service access and transaction acceptation, but also through its capability to store configuration and user data.
The toolkit programs—which are stored on the SIM card are the means by which operators are able to customize their service portfolios.
Different mechanisms allow the service provider to load applications over the air to a SIM card.
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is a protocol that has successfully established a de facto standard for the way in which wireless technology is used for Internet access. WAP technology has been optimized for information delivery to mobile phones. GSM phones can thus access the internet through WAP. WAP downloading of applications to a mobile phone takes place so that the user first browses the site with the mobile phone and selects the midlet/application he wants to download. The user then writes an URL (Uniform Resource Location) address to a WAP site containing the desired midlets/applications. The selected application is then directly downloaded and installation takes place on the mobile phone.
Another known WAP downloading method is the WAP push initiated download, in which the user browses a website with a normal internet web browser. This site contains applications, form which the user selects one for downloading and supplies his mobile phone number to the site. The site then connects to a WAP Push gateway and sends a WAP Push to the user. The push contains an URL to the application and the browser is launched to open this URL. The application is then downloaded and installation takes place in the mobile phone.
There are some problems connected to the known downloading solutions with respect to the security, which arise when subscribers can not be sure if they can trust the content provider and the service to be download. The subscribers have to be sure about that the service to be downloaded is secure and without e.g. viruses etc. The increasing number of content providers makes this problem even worse.
The object of the application is to provide improved downloading methods to mobile terminals.
Especially, the object is to develop a secure method for downloading applications to mobile phones.